With reference to the forms and methods of enacting statutes, there are special provisions in many of the state constitutions, such as, for instance, that no special laws shall be passed, except under circumstances rendering a general law inapplicable; no statute shall embrace more than one subject, which must be expressed in the title; each bill before it becomes a law must receive the approval of the two houses of the legislature and of the governor; and the like. But as provisions on these subjects are not uniform, and are not embodied in all state constitutions, it is impracticable to give them any extensive consideration.

The prohibition against special legislation when general laws can be made applicable is intended to prevent the granting of special privileges or the forwarding of individual interests. Where there is such a prohibition, the legislature cannot pass special statutes for the incorporation of cities, but must provide for such incorporation by general statutes which may be acted upon wherever applicable; and such a provision prevents the passage of statutes applicable to only a particular city and not available to other cities of substantially the same class, or under substantially the same conditions. The prohibition of special legislation also prevents the granting of special charters to private corporations, and makes it necessary for the legislature to provide for the formation and regulation of corporations in accordance with general laws on the subject. By such a provision the granting of divorces by the legislature in special cases is also prohibited. Indeed, the granting of a divorce is not properly a legislative, but rather a judicial function; but owing to the fact that before the separation of the colonies from Great Britain Parliament exercised the power of granting divorces, such power has been recognized in some of the states as belonging to the legislature. (See above, § 26.)

The provision against including more than one subject in a legislative enactment is intended to prevent the tacking to a statute of provisions relating to irrelevant matters, and thus carrying through the legislature measures which would not be adopted on their own merits. It is a common device, in the absence of such a prohibition, for some members of a legislative body to secure the incorporation into a statute of a provision relating to a different subject, the supporters of the particular measure refusing to vote for the principal measure unless such provision is incorporated, and thus securing the adoption of a provision which has not really the support of a majority of the members. It is not intended, however, by the prohibition against including more than one subject-matter to prevent the incorporation in the same statute of separate provisions germane to the same general purpose; and if there is substantial connection between the different parts of the statute, it will not be held invalid as in violation of such a prohibition, although very broad and general in its scope. Thus the legislature may in one statute embody all the provisions necessary to constitute a complete code of criminal law and procedure or a complete code governing the practice in the courts; or it may by a general statute provide for the organization and government of municipal or private corporations, or otherwise cover a whole branch of the law. The requirement that a statute shall not embrace any subject not embodied in or covered by the title of the act has a substantially similar purpose. The title of a statute is intended to be a brief statement of the subject-matter to which the statute relates; and if, by general terms, the scope of the statute is indicated in the title, that is sufficient.